title: [Screening for visual impairment in children: new tests and the place of the orthoptist].
abstract: The fragility and plasticity of visual function in children necessitates early detection and treatment of visual disorders. New approaches such as portable automatic refraction, tonometry and digital fundus examination have improved the quality of screening The problem now is a lack of ophthalmologists. One possible solution is to redefine the role of orthoptists. The waiting time for an ophthalmologist appointment is very long in some parts of France (up to a year), because of a training quota established in the 1980s, as well as retirements (average age 52 years), and a concentration of specialists in the south of France and around medical schools. Today, France trains only 80 specialists per year, whereas twice as many are needed Anglo-Saxon countries (US, Canada, United Kingdom) have created a profession--the optometrist--that is intermediate between the optician and the ophthalmologist. This profession is not recognized in France, yet optometrists are capable of detecting many anomalies and quickly referring a child to a specialist.
authors.affiliation: Ophtalmologie, Hôpitaux universitaires de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital BP426-67091 Strasbourg cedex. claude.speeg@chru-strasbourg.fr
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Speeg-Schatz
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological / Q000639:trends; D004363:Drug Utilization; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009184:Mydriatics; D009885:Ophthalmology; D009988:Orthoptics / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation; D012380:Role; D017216:Telemedicine; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015351:Vision Screening / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D014850:Waiting Lists; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D009184:Mydriatics